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Tuesday, 11 October 2011

Introduction and Ideas

This blog was created to record the process of producing a part of an interactive game and to help keep track of my Dissertation.

Project Plan

Here is a basic project plan listing that I have created for the sake of keeping my progress consistent. Every week there will be a major goal to complete, I have made it so I can change my plans on a weekly basis. It is an easy and simple to-do tick list. (right)

My properly structured project plan will be put into a Gantt chart that will lead to two simultaneous routes, so here is the basic flow of my project:

I aim to create a single player Horror themed Maze game- most of the game play involves collecting items, solving puzzles/unlocking doors, and avoiding trouble whilst a monster lurks in the maze. The idea was inspired by Amnesia's eerie dungeon atmosphere and PacMan's maze chasing.

There is one main character, who wakes up in an unfamiliar place (the maze), and she must find her way out. She will come across maze after maze in the hopes of finding an exit. While she is trapped in a maze she encounters obstacles in her path (e.g. fallen debris, hole in the path, or even a monster obstructing the way) that will force the player to choose a different root or find a way across. Sometimes there will be locked doors that need items, and sometimes to get those items you must solve open plane puzzles. The puzzles involve pushing blocks, combining items that fit together to form a key (for the door) or imputing the correct sequence to a special lock.

The whole story will be set in a supernatural-horror scene, where not much makes sense- environments will look half organic (bloody/rusty) and half industrial/medical. The whole concept is undecided for now as more research and mood boards are required.

Basic Game Mechanics

The first maze is made of rooms and corridors. In this example there are 3 different starting points for the main character, and 5 spawn/outpost areas for the monster. In the below example both character and monster have spawned at one of their designated locations.

When the character wakes up/spawns in the maze, she is set at a random starting point. As soon as the game starts, the monster also spawns at a random spot of the maze. Their spots are set up so that no matter where either monster/character spawn they will always be at least two rooms away from each other. This will give the player a chance in the beginning.

Monster: Roams to a random outpost until it spots the main character, in which it will start to chase her until it looses sight or eats her.